Spool-stand.



No. 654,454. Patented July 24, I900. W. P. HOUGHTON.

SPOOL STAND (Application filed Apr. '1, 1900.

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rrnn STATES v WILLARD P. HOUGHTON, OF EASTPOR'I, MAINE.

SPOOL-STAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 654,454, dated July 24, 1900. Application filed April 7, 1900. Serial No. 12,013. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD P. Houerrron, a citizen of the United States, residing at Eastport, in the county of Washington and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l/Vork-Cabinets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device, and Fig. 2 a detail side elevation of a portion of the column of spool-holders.

The object of this invention is to provide a cabinet for ladies use wherein suitable compartments are provided to hold pieces of Work, buttons, and devices used in sewing and darning, the outer sideof the cabinet being provided with racks to hold darning-needles and with pin-cushions and spool-holders to receive spools of various sizes and to hold them against too-free rotation.

Referring to the various parts by numerals, 1 designates the cabinet, which is mounted on a suitable base and is formed with the vertical front and rear corner-posts 2 and the upper cross-bar 3 and the lower cross-bar 4, said cross-bar being connected to the adjacent corner-posts. Supported by the posts 2 are the work 'holdin g compartments 5, adapted to hold piecesof work, papers of pins and needles, scissors, buttons, &c., and which are" provided with vertical front covers, which are hinged at their lower edges, a pivoted latch 7 being'pivoted to the top of each compartment, said latchesbeing adapted to secure the hinged covers in their closed positions. The upper compartment is smaller than the other compartments and is designed to hold thimbles and other small articles, and on top of it is mounted a pin-cushion 8. Thelarger compartments project slightly forward of the front corner-posts 2, and connected to said projecting portion thereof and the forward side of each of the front corner-posts is a long vertical pin-cushion9, which extends from the base of the cabinet to the top of the series oflarger compartments and is convex on its outer surface. The upper cross-bar 3 is provided with a series of vertical holes to receive the darning-needles 10, Whose lower ends rest in recesses formed in the uppersurface of the lower cross-bar 4. Above the cushion 8 the back piece of the cabinet is recessed to receive a mirror 11.

Rotatably mounted in e'achcorner-post and extending laterally therefrom is a row or series of horizontal spool-supporting arms lfl, all the arms of each column or series being located in the same vertical plane, one above the other,and spaced u nequal distances apart,

the distances between the lower ones being greater than the distances between the upper ones. Secured rigidly to each spool-supporting arm is a vertical upward-extending spindle'13, which terminates slightly below the spool-supporting arm above. Surrounding each spindle and resting on the spool-sup porting arm carrying the spindle is a coilspring 14, which when a spool is placed on the spindle forces said spool up against the spool-supporting arm next above, each s'poolsupporting bar thus serving as a retainingbar to maintain the spool on the spindle next below, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The spoolsupporting arms are placed unequaldistances apart in order to hold spools of various sizes by the use of short coil-springs. It will be readily understood that the friction caused by the coil-spring forcing the spool against the spool-supporting arm above will act as a tension and prevent the too-free rotationof the spool. When it is desired to remove a spool from its spindle, the supporting 'arm is rotated to throw the upper end of the spool sufficiently far forward or rearward to free it from the spool-supporting arm above, as shown in dotted linesin Fig. 2. When a spool is placed on a spindle, it is forced down thereon to compress the spring sufficiently to permit the spool to be swung upward underthe spoolsupporting arm above. Above each of the top spool-supporting arms is a rigid retainingbar 15, against which the spool on said upper arm is pressed. It will be readily understood that over each spindle a rigid retaining-bar may be employed wherever it is not convenient or desirable to arrange the spool- 'snpportin g arms in columns or vertical rows.

The outer end of each spindle-supporting arm is formed with a slit 16 to receive the end of the thread from the spool on said arm and prevent it becoming entangled with the threads from the other spools.

Any suitable form of hook maybe secured to the back of the cabinet, so that it may be hung on a suitable support, if desired.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with a support, of a series of independently-r0tatable spool-s11 pporting arms projectinghorizontally therefrom and arranged in a vertical row one above the other, a spindle projecting vertically from each of said spool-supportingarms and extendingnear to the adjacent spool-snpportin g arm, whereby each of the spool-supporting arms forms a retaining-bar to hold the spool on the adjacent spindle and each of said arms may be independently rotated to move the free end of the spindle it carries out of line with the adjoining spool-supporting arm to release its spool from said retaining-bar, substantially as described.

2. In combination with a Work-cabinet, of a series of independently-rotatable spool-supporting arms projecting horizontally therefrom and arranged ina vertical row-one above the other, a spindle projecting vertically from each of said arms toward the next adjacent supporting-arm, and a spring carried by each supporting-arm and bearing on the spool to cause it to frictionally engage the adjacent WILLARD P. I-IOUGHTON.

Witnesses:

GEORGE H. KANE, EDWARD W. SMALL. 

